The Rise of the Third Reich

The source of the news that the German army will use atomic bombs on the Avalon Peninsula is US President Truman!

Immediately after his phone call with Kennedy, he convened an emergency military meeting of the cabinet. At the beginning of the meeting, he first announced that he had learned through "secret channels" that Germany would use atomic bombs again on the Avalon Peninsula.

Since Truman's "secret information" was confirmed last time, no one dared to take it lightly this time. Marshall immediately hung up the phone to the Army Staff and asked them to issue an order to the Allied North American Northeast Command: Allied officers and soldiers on the Avalon Peninsula were required to make all preparations to defend against atomic bombing!

But everyone knows that the Allied officers and soldiers on the Avalon Peninsula have no good way to defend against the German atomic bombs except digging holes! Moreover, the Germans can use more than just a few 200,000-ton atomic bombs on the Avalon Peninsula. They also have a powerful fleet outside Concepcion Bay.

The U.S. Navy has completely collapsed after the explosion in the Bay of Fundy. Two of the 10 Essex-class aircraft carriers of the 56th Task Force were sunk and six were seriously damaged. Twenty or thirty cruisers and destroyers were sunk. , and more than twenty ships were seriously damaged. The entire task force had completely lost its combat effectiveness and was now scattered and retreating to the Norfolk base.

As for the 11th Task Force that was originally planned to reinforce Newfoundland and the 57th Task Force that was preparing to raid the Azores Islands, they have now given up the operation and are retreating towards the Caribbean Sea.

In other words, Newfoundland has become an isolated island! And it will soon be attacked by the overwhelmingly superior European Community Navy. Even if the Germans did not use atomic bombs to bomb the Churchill Naval Fortress, relying on battleships and missile ships, they could knock out the Churchill Fortress and open up a channel into Concepcion Bay.

In fact, shortly after the atomic bomb exploded in Concepcion Bay, the German S-100 torpedo speedboat, driven by naval officers wearing full radiation protection suits, ventured into Concepcion Bay and attacked the remaining British ships. Launch an attack. The Fokker 636 taking off from the aircraft carrier also carried bombs and joined the battle in Concepcion Bay. As of sunset on the 29th, the British fleet in Concepcion Bay had basically lost its combat capability. The only force that could stop the massive German landings in the bay was the cannons of Churchill Naval Fortress.

What is even more worrying is that these cannons that can defend Concepcion Bay are not under the direct control of the US military!

"Just now, I have instructed the Secretary of State to submit a peace request to Germany through the Roman Empire Embassy (currently moved to Chicago). I believe that a comprehensive ceasefire will be achieved soon..."

When Marshall returned to the conference room, President Truman was briefing cabinet members and military leaders on the progress of the peace process - of course he could not tell everyone that he had been in direct contact with Hitler through secret channels, because this secret channel was not in the United States and Congress Under supervision, there is a violation of the law. Therefore, Truman only talked about the public progress of peace, that is, through contact with the Roman Empire's embassy in the United States, and then through Rome as an intermediary, he sued for peace with Germany.

Although this formal and open channel for peace will not expose the president to a judicial crisis, it does suffer from insufficient flexibility and slow response. It is possible that the United States will miss the best opportunity to seek peace. In fact, the United States has already missed the best opportunity. If it is delayed any longer, the situation will only get worse.

In addition, Truman also learned through various channels that in Germany, the "peace-minded" Prime Minister Hitler was actually restricted by the "militant" German Junkers military group, and also needed someone who could avoid the Junkers military group. The group's line of sight has direct contact with the President of the United States. This was also the reason that prompted Truman to take the risk of establishing a secret channel to communicate with Hitler.

And since it was a secret channel, Truman could not disclose the contents of the private agreement reached between himself and Hitler at the cabinet military meeting. As a result, he would encounter great difficulties in fulfilling his promise to Hitler.

For example, now, he cannot publicly say that handing over the Avalon Peninsula is a prerequisite for a ceasefire, because open channel ceasefire negotiations have not yet begun.

Therefore, Truman could only fulfill his promise to Hitler through the equally unruly method of directly intervening in combat command.

"Since the ceasefire is about to be achieved," Truman glanced at General Marshall, who had just finished a phone call with the Army Staff and looked worried, "therefore we should avoid unnecessary casualties and should now move the U.S. ground forces on the Avalon Peninsula to Troops withdraw."

"Mr. President..." Marshall was shocked when he heard this. "The Avalon Peninsula is only 1,800 kilometers away from New York. If we abandon it, the Germans will have a stronghold to launch an atomic bomb attack on New York."

"Admiral, I know how close the Avalon Peninsula is to New York." Truman said angrily, "But can we hold the Avalon Peninsula? The German atomic bomb will soon level the Churchill Naval Fortress. , we will still lose the peninsula." He paused and said in an unusually gloomy tone, "But I doubt that the British guarding Churchill Fortress are determined to fight the atomic bomb for the United States, Colonel Donovan, what do you think? look?"

This is indeed a problem!

Marshall looked at Director of Strategic Intelligence Donovan. Donovan shook his head and said: "The British troops guarding the fortress are relatively reliable, but that was before the atomic bomb exploded..."

The atomic bomb can not only destroy Churchill's naval fortress (in fact, the Heisenberg device with a 20,000-ton equivalent does not have such power, but the British and American sides overestimated the power of the German atomic bomb because the scene of the underwater explosion of the atomic bomb was too big), but also destroyed the hope of winning and tying! Now the United States is bound to lose, the only question is how much it will lose. The situation of the British (Canadians) who followed the United States to fight is even more desperate. Not only are they facing failure, but they may also become traitors to the country. Because they lost not only a world war, but also a war of succession. If they don't want to be a sinner of the country for the rest of their lives, it would be a good way out to surrender to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in time. "Retreat from the Avalon Peninsula!" Truman saw that Marshall had nothing to say, so he simply made the decision himself, "This is my order, the Army Staff just needs to execute it!" "Yes, sir." Marshall stood up, saluted Truman, then picked up his military cap and left the meeting room again to issue an order that was later considered to have accelerated the slide of the United States into the abyss. …

The tribal-class destroyer "Athabascan" on which Vice Admiral Fraser of the British Navy was riding was hiding behind Bell Island when the nuclear explosion occurred in Conception Bay, so it escaped.

However, the German atomic bomb still severely hit the psychology of all British officers and soldiers on the Avalon Peninsula, including Vice Admiral Fraser, and made them completely desperate.

The spirit of "destroying the enemy when you see it" that the British Royal Navy has always been proud of was also wiped out with the explosion of the atomic bomb. The ships on the sea that survived the nuclear explosion (including American torpedo boats incorporated into the Newfoundland Fleet) did not wait for Fraser's order, and all rushed to the nearest beach. Regardless of whether there was a port, they directly parked the ships on various shoals, and then abandoned the ship and fled - there was no place to hide from the atomic bomb on the sea, so they had to go ashore quickly!

The performance of Vice Admiral Fraser was slightly better. He finally did not let the "Athabascan" run aground on the beach, but let the warship enter the port of Portugal, which was closest to Churchill's naval fortress. After getting off the ship, he asked his men to find a few cars and then headed straight to Churchill Naval Fortress.

When he arrived at the panicked Churchill Naval Fortress in a daze, he found that the fortress seemed to be empty! Did the British soldiers who were supposed to be on duty outside the fortress go to nowhere? Lieutenant General Fraser's car had no obstacles all the way, passed through several unmanned checkpoints, and was finally blocked at the entrance to the core area of ​​the fortress - because the gate of the core of the fortress was closed, and no one was on duty at the checkpoint outside the gate.

"What's going on? Where are the people? Where did everyone go?" Lieutenant General Fraser asked loudly, looking at the closed gate and the empty trenches, air defense positions, anti-tank artillery positions and lookouts around.

"Maybe they all went to hide from the atomic bomb?" Fraser's chief of staff Colonel Cook guessed the reason correctly.

The British troops at sea were afraid of atomic bombs, and of course the British troops in the fortress were also afraid! Moreover, the hasty evacuation of the Allied Newfoundland Ground Force Command led by US Army Lieutenant General Collins from the fort also severely hit the morale of the British troops in the fort. Everyone believed that Churchill Naval Fortress would be the next target of atomic bombing.

Therefore, after the nuclear explosion in Conception Bay, all the British officers and soldiers stationed on the surface of the fortress hid in the core bunker underground to avoid the atomic bomb. Not only were there no guards on the outer positions of the fortress, but even the most important four twin-mounted 406mm armored turrets and the fortress radar station were empty.

It can be said that Churchill Naval Fortress is now in an undefended state. If the Germans drop a company of paratroopers now, the fortress will change hands.

"It's so shameful. How can the soldiers of the British Empire be so afraid of death?" After figuring out the situation, Fraser was furious, but he couldn't do anything about those British cowards who were hiding from atomic bombs. Because he couldn't enter the fortress now, his men couldn't hear him when he wanted to give orders.

Just when he was angry, someone beside him suddenly shouted: "Air raid! Air raid!"

Fraser quickly raised his telescope to look at the dark sky - he wanted to see if it was the Me264 that dropped the atomic bomb. If it was, he would be dead. But he was stunned when he saw it. It turned out that there were three Short "Sunderland" seaplanes painted with the British Royal Navy logo in the sky.

Chapter 1272: Everyone Flies When Disaster Approaches

Now it is the British Royal Navy's seaplanes that are attacking the British Royal Navy's fortress!

Lieutenant General Fraser looked at the Short "Sunderland" seaplanes hovering in the air, and suddenly felt that it was not real. Because there was no one stationed on the anti-aircraft artillery position of the fortress, there was no anti-aircraft firepower to stop the three Short "Sunderland" seaplanes from approaching the fortress. Several of Fraser's adjutants and staff rushed to hold Fraser up and wanted to find a place to hide, but they were pushed away by the British Navy Vice Admiral who was angry.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll let the British bombs kill me right here!" Lieutenant General Fraser shouted out his "wish", but unfortunately the British bulletin in the sky did not carry a bomb, and what was dropped were leaflets. The content of the leaflets was the edict of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom!

In the edict, the Queen ordered "misguided" officers and soldiers stationed in the Canadian Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to immediately pay allegiance to her and join the cause of liberating the Canadian Dominion. At the same time, the Queen also guaranteed that all British officers and soldiers who surrendered to her would retain their original military ranks and all honors, and would be properly resettled after the war. Their experiences of being deceived and exploited by the American invaders would not be held accountable.

In short, if you immediately abandon the dark side and join the camp of Elizabeth II, you will be a good comrade of the British Empire.

If they refuse to join, Her Majesty's troops will land immediately to destroy them, traitors to the British Empire!

After handing a mimeographed edict to his chief of staff, Colonel Cook, Lieutenant General Fraser smiled bitterly: "If we defeat Her Majesty's army, the Germans will probably drop atomic bombs, right?"

"No, it won't." Colonel Cook shook his head, "Lieutenant General, if it is Her Majesty's army that lands on Newfoundland, then why should we fight them? Aren't we the British army?"

"But... Queen Elizabeth's throne is illegal." Lieutenant General Fraser seemed a little hesitant.

"Illegal?" Colonel Cook looked at Lieutenant General Fraser seriously, "We are soldiers and don't know much about the laws of the empire... The question of whether it is illegal or not should be decided by His Excellency the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain."

yes! Lieutenant General Fraser nodded repeatedly, Colonel Cook was right! As a general and not a judge, how do you know whether the Queen is illegal or not?

"Viscount Simon, the Chief Justice of Great Britain, has never said that the Queen is illegitimate." Colonel Cook said plausibly, "This shows that Her Majesty the Queen is the legal monarch of the British Empire!"

The Chief Justice of Great Britain that Colonel Cook was talking about was Viscount John Simon, who was once the British Foreign Secretary and one of the three giants of the Conservative Party. He happened to be the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain at the time of the London Incident, and he did not go to Canada. As a result, the Bolsheviks caught him red-handed and he was almost shot in accordance with the reactionary legal authority of the bourgeoisie. Fortunately, Queen Elizabeth's Guards were able to fight and rescued him in time. After they were rescued, they served as his Lord Chancellor and Viscount of Great Britain.

How dare the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, whose life was saved by Queen Elizabeth, say that the Queen is illegitimate?

Fraser nodded vigorously: "Yes! Her Majesty the Queen is the legal monarch, and we must stand on the side of the legal monarch."

Having said this, he raised his head and glanced at the closed door of the fortress - now that he couldn't enter the fortress, wouldn't it mean that he had no way to surrender?

At this moment, one of his adjutants had already found a way to get in. It turned out that the man found a telephone in the checkpoint outside the gate of the core area of ​​the fortress, and the phone could still be connected, and he directly contacted the deputy commander who was staying at the fortress. .

"Hell, why aren't there any defenders on the upper level of the fortress?" Taking the phone from the adjutant, Fraser did not say that he was going to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side, but directly reprimanded him.

Even if you want to surrender, someone must guard the fortress, right? Otherwise, surrendering will not be welcomed by others.

"Sir, I've asked someone to open the door for you. Come down quickly...the Germans are about to drop an atomic bomb!"

"What?" Fraser was shocked when he heard the deputy commander's report, "Who said that? Is this a rumor?"

"No, it's not a rumor. It was said by the Allied Newfoundland Island Command! The Germans are preparing to use atomic bombs to destroy the Avalon Peninsula, so the Americans have begun to retreat from the Avalon Peninsula..."

"What? What?" Fraser was even more surprised this time. "The Americans ran away? They ran away?"

"Yes! We are the only ones left on the Avalon Peninsula now."

"Lieutenant General," Colonel Cook, who was next to Fraser and could hear the voice on the phone receiver, interrupted, "when we came from Portugal just now, we didn't see a single American soldier. No Americans were seen in the port of Portugal..."

Fraser thought for a moment and realized that it was indeed the case. No Americans were seen along the way, which meant that the Americans escaped and the British were left to eat the atomic bombs!

This is too shameless and absolutely not allowed!

Thinking of this, Fraser immediately gave an order on the phone: "Send someone to open the door for me quickly, and prepare a speedboat and a white flag."

"White flag? Lieutenant General, what do you want to do?"

"What?" Fraser snorted, "Of course you are on the right side... If you don't want to be hit by the atomic bomb, you have to stand on the right side! Do you understand?"

After saying that, Fraser hung up the phone and said to Colonel Cook: "As soon as it breaks tomorrow, you can get on the speedboat and take the white flag to Concepcion Bay to see if you can encounter the German speedboat. If so. If you meet him, tell him that he is an envoy sent by Churchill Naval Fortress and wants to see Marshal Alexander.”

…

While the British troops in Churchill Naval Fortress were busy regrouping, on the west bank of Concepcion Bay, German Airborne Second Lieutenant Brandt was leading his platoon of about ten paratroopers to pursue the escaping Americans. Armor!

That's right, German paratroopers armed with FG42 paratrooper rifles and Panzerfaust grenade launchers are now chasing M26 tanks and M4A3 tanks!

Although the Americans' M26 and M4A3 can easily crush the pursuers to death with their tracks as long as they are turned over. But the Germans have atomic bombs! When that thing is dropped, it can explode a "5,000-meter" high water wall (actually only 2,000 meters, but the frightened American officers and soldiers thought that the water wall was as high as 5,000 meters), and it can also create several waves. If a big tsunami fell on my head, I wouldn't even be able to find ashes.

So once the order to retreat was given, not even Lieutenant General Walker could stop the troops from crumbling and fleeing. This was probably a real defeat, right?

When the morale of the army completely collapsed and the officers and soldiers lost their fighting spirit, the armored soldiers operating tanks and armored vehicles were no longer willing to engage in firefights with the armored soldiers who only had light weapons.

Going west from the Grays Harbor Airport, abandoned vehicles and weapons can be seen everywhere on both sides of the road. Some of the vehicles only had minor malfunctions, while others simply ran out of fuel - the U.S. military on Newfoundland was not at all Short of fuel, the 20th Army commanded by Lieutenant General Walker also brought a long fuel convoy to the battlefield. In theory, you only need to wait a short time before a tanker truck comes to refuel the tank or other vehicle.

But now the American soldiers who are frightened by the atomic bomb have fallen into chaos, fearing that they will be killed by the atomic bomb if they run slower.

However, this kind of pursuit of drowned dogs could not last long. At three or four o'clock in the morning on the 30th, the US military, which had retreated more than ten kilometers south from Grays Harbor Airport, finally stopped retreating, and the U.S. troops who were pursuing them finally stopped retreating. The German paratroopers did not dare to go head-to-head with the armored troops, so they just gave up.

The reason that Lieutenant General Walton Walker's troops stopped retreating was not that they remembered the responsibility and honor of an American soldier, but that there was a serious traffic jam.

It turned out that the U.S. military convoys withdrawing from various parts of the Avalon Peninsula swarmed onto the road near the isthmus, resulting in the road being blocked.

Lieutenant General Collins' command column was also blocked on the road near the small town of Whitburn. At about 5 o'clock in the morning on the 30th, he saw Walton in a panic on the road leading to the isthmus to the west of the town. .Walker.

"Why are you ordering a retreat?" Lieutenant General Walker asked angrily. "That damn atomic bomb has already panicked people. Retreating at this time can easily cause the troops to collapse!"

Lieutenant General Walker's anger was justified. The troops witnessed the explosion of atomic bombs in the water, and some troops were hit by tsunamis. Their morale had long been shaken. In this case, the most important thing is to stabilize the morale of the troops rather than retreating headlessly. If you retreat blindly when morale collapses, it is extremely easy to cause a rout. These principles are almost common sense!

Lieutenant General Collins also looked unlucky. The victory he was about to win was blown away by three German atomic bombs. What's worse is that the fourth German atomic bomb is likely to hit his head directly.

"Walton," Lieutenant General Collins sighed, "This is an order from above, an order from the North American Eastern Theater Command... He also said," He looked around and saw that they were his and Lieutenant General Walker's adjutants. Then he continued, "It also said that Germany will drop atomic bombs on the Avalon Peninsula tomorrow, and may drop two more."

The intelligence obtained by Lieutenant General Collins did not include any information about how many bombs to throw, but the commander who was an elite staff officer of the U.S. Army was very good at guessing. He believed that the two atomic bombs dropped on the Bay of Fundy were originally intended to be dropped on the Avalon Peninsula, but the plan was temporarily changed only because the Germans discovered Task Force 56...

"Throw two more?" Lieutenant General Walker took a breath, "Is the intelligence reliable?"

Lieutenant General Collins nodded and said, "Didn't we get the news before today's atomic bomb attack? Otherwise, our losses would probably be even greater, right? So we'd better retreat quickly."